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Court documents show Lynnwood City Council candidate Bryce Owings faced domestic violence and drug possession charges, including domestic violence in 2020 involving his current wife and earlier charges stating Owings’ intent to distribute MDMT and cocaine.
Owings is running for Lynnwood Council Position 3, now held by Josh Binda. Owings outpaced Binda by 87 votes in the August primary election.
The candidate and his wife acknowledged the charges in a statement sent to Lynnwood Today.
“I should have never gotten physical with my wife, and there is no excuse for that behavior,” Owings said Tuesday via email. “Since then, my wife and I have committed to counseling, both individually and as a couple, and have worked hard to strengthen our marriage. A few years into sobriety, I made the mistake of reintroducing alcohol, which led to a serious lapse and painful consequences that reminded me I can never let it be part of my life. Since that whole situation, we have welcomed two more children, a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old, and focused on raising our three boys with honesty, humility, and love. My intention wasn’t to hide anything, I have been upfront that I have a past but have never gone into the details. I am not proud of the person I was at that time, but I am proud of the leader I have become, and I’ve learned that redemption is not about erasing the past but about using it to grow.”
His wife, Hannah Owings, also provided a statement, expressing trust in her husband, despite what has happened in the past.
“It takes real integrity and courage to face one’s past mistakes,” she said. “Especially as candidly as my husband has, and even more courage and humility to seek to serve the public knowing that your past iniquities will likely be put on full display. I stand by my husband because he is a living testament to positive reform. I have seen first hand his contrite heart, and his sincere efforts to make himself better everyday. I see the man he is today, and not the man he was. I proudly look forward to striving alongside him using our insights from a life lived, to make a better and brighter future for our family in this city.”
Lynnwood police records show officers responded to three incidents at Owings’ home in 2020.
On May 24, neighbors reported that Owings’ wife came to their door saying she had been assaulted. She told police he strangled her while he was holding their child, causing her to lose consciousness. She said she bit his arm after regaining consciousness, but Lynnwood officers reported no marks on him. They noted “slight redness” on her neck but said it was “nothing that would indicate that enough force was exerted on her neck to cause her to lose consciousness,” the report read.
Citing intoxication and conflicting accounts, Officer Kristofer Munoz wrote that it was clear a physical fight occurred but unclear how severe. He named Owings the primary aggressor. Owings denied the allegations, claiming his wife strangled herself. He was booked for fourth-degree domestic violence, spent one day in jail and later posted $20,000 bail, according to the sentencing documents.
Police responded again to a call Aug. 13 at the Owings’ residence after Owings’ father reported an altercation between the couple in violation of a no-contact order.
Owings’ father told officers he feared for the couple’s child: “’I don’t want them to lose [their child] …when they get drunk and they fight [the child is] seeing that they’re not protecting him,’” Lynnwood police officer Charles Thayer wrote in an incident report.
About an hour later, Officer Samuel Zacharia tried to locate Owings, who had left earlier. Zacharia said he located Owings using a K-9 unit, saying Owings was actively avoiding arrest and “posed a risk to the public,” Zacharia wrote. Owings later pleaded guilty and was fined $5,000.
Owings’ criminal record dates back to 2005, with 11 guilty pleas/verdicts and seven probation violations. Charges include possession of and intent to distribute drugs, supplying liquor to a minor, and probation violations, according to a background check initiated by Lynnwood Today.
In 2015, Seattle police arrested Owings for possession and intent to sell or deliver MDMA and cocaine at Seattle University. Upon searching Owings’ person, police found 23 MDMA pills and 3.4 grams of cocaine, according to King County court documents.
Police dismissed the charges in 2022, per the Blake Decision – passed by the Washington Supreme Court in 2021 – which decriminalized “simple possession of drugs” for charges occurring from 1971 to 2021, according to the Washington State Department of Corrections. The State Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2023.
Owings has been open about struggles with substance abuse. In a Q&A article published by Lynnwood Today, Owings said that after a decade of facing addiction, he completed a rehabilitation program and later served as a director for the facility.
“I have lived experiences dealing with the homelessness, drug addiction and the mental health crisis Lynnwood is experiencing,” Owings wrote in June. “I would like to bring that knowledge to the table. I believe working with already established programs known to work and get the information out about long-term programs, like the one I attended, we can start some of these folks on the right path to success.”
As of Sept. 30, Owings’ endorsements include U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, State Sen. John Lovick and State Rep. Lauren Davis, former Lynnwood Councilmember and Snohomish County Public Utilities District Commissioner Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, Mukilteo City Councilmember Jason Moon, former Lynnwood Mayor Tina Roberts-Martinez and former Lynnwood Councilmember Ted Hikel. Owings is also endorsed by the 32nd District Democrats, Lynnwood Police Guild, South County Firefighters Union and other local labor unions.
Learn more about Owings and his platform on his campaign website.
More election information can be found on Lynnwood Today’s Election 2025 page.
— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.
Thank you for this article and shedding some light on the background of this candidate, a criminal in the running for the city council position in our city without being properly vetted.